BLOOM

V. CHRYSANTHEMUM

NEW CHARACTER(S):

Underlined dialogue: Joseph
•*•*•*•*•*•

  Edward gallantly strode over to the dark, navy blue bench that he loitered around every day. He stroked the top of his head, fixing his hair to give it more of a flirty appearance. He couldn't wait for Melissa. He slowly turned his head towards the flowerbed. He could see short, glowing hair being blown about in the wind. It had to be Melissa.

  "Hey! Mel!" he shouted as he jumped up and shook his arms around, trying to grab her attention.

  Melissa and another boy had walked closer and closer to the bench, and with every step they took, Edward's stomach began to churn. Who was this? He would never know. The couple sassily slid past him, leaving Edward in complete confusion.

  "Melissa? What the hell?"

  Melissa stopped, and so did her little friend. She whipped her head around to face Edward's, her expression was angry. The boy beside her didn't say a word.

  Mel sighed and took a step towards Edward. She rolled her eyes and leaned closer and closer to him. She spoke low in his ear, her voice flooding his senses. The sound of her voice tickled the inside of his ears in a pleasant way.

  "Joseph and I are taking a walk in the park today, without a guy named Edward! Joe doesn't want anyone interrupting our time together, and I really don't want to blow this."

  Hundreds of thoughts raced through Edward's head. Am I garbage to her now? he thought. As she kept her distance from him, Edward looked her up and down.

  She was wearing a cream-colored sundress that was silkier-looking than her own hair. Her shoes were flats, and they were the clearest, most solid shade of white. The best part of all was that a yellow chrysanthemum was placed in her hair. She was more than beautiful to Edward.

  "Mel, who is this? And why is he calling you 'Mel?'" the boy asked. Edward looked at him and disgust was slapped across his face. This guy had ruffled, greasy hair, and a worn bomber jacket. His jeans were ripped a little too much, and his shoes were brown, encased in dirt. Gross, Edward thought.

  "I'm Melissa's friend. Who're you, huh?"

  "Well, hotshot, I'm her boyfriend, Joseph O'Neil. What's your name?"

  "Edward Roy."

  "Eddie, you better stay away from Melissa, or else I'll—"

  "Stop! Joseph, shut the hell up. You're going off on my friend," Melissa shouted as she pushed Joseph back.

  "Melissa, he's not good for you. I hate him," Joseph whined. A few flakes of dandruff fell from his hair. How could Melissa love someone like this?

  "No, Joseph. I've heard about you, and I genuinely think that you're the worst for Melissa. You better go off and smoke some pot, or cheat on Mel with a whore, or whatever you do when Melissa isn't with you. That's right, Melissa thinks you're cheating on her, and I totally... agree," Edward said with a great deal of rage. He silenced himself as he spoke those last few words. His eyes welled up with tears as he looked into Melissa's soft, now sorrowful, emerald eyes.

"You weren't supposed to say that, Edward. Joseph, I–"

"I've had enough, Melissa. You have the gaul to say that I'm cheating, when you're cheating on me with a loser! I'm done with you, Melissa. You were never there for me," Joseph said, outraged. He quickly grabbed the flower atop Melissa's head and threw it on the ground, crushing it with his foot. Joseph stormed off, hopefully for forever.

"I'm glad he's gone. He's such a hypocrite," Edward chuckled.

"Don't say anything to me, just listen. I worked so hard to get him to appreciate me as a person, and you threw it all away the second you saw him. I love him, and now I know that he'll never love me, no matter how pretty I am, or how much I kiss up to him. Even if his feelings weren't real, I wanted so badly to be loved."

"Melissa, I do–"

"Save it for never. So long, Edward," Melissa cried. She took the Statice flower out of his pocket and walked away, leaving him in an award stance. What did Edward just do?